Worry doesn’t change anything

The Prompt:  If you could permanently get rid of one worry, what would it be?

I don’t believe in worry.  Yes, I know we all have our moments, but I choose not to let worry control me.  There are times I battle with it, but if I give it to God, the fear dissipates. It was a lesson that was hard to learn, but when you realize it’s useless, it becomes easier to let it go.  I wrote a short story to show how I feel about worry.

It was getting late and the Browns were getting ready to turn in for the night.  Faith Brown was humming a hymn as she removed the excess pillows and turned down the sheets.  Her husband, Wori Brown grunted as he stalked past her on his way to the bathroom.

Faith shook herself out of her slippers and tossed her robe at the bottom of the bed.  She kneeled by the bed and said a prayer, then climbed into bed and snuggled into the warm covers, thankful for a safe, comfortable home.

Wori needed to go to bed as 5:30 came early, but there was just too much on his mind.  He paced through the house a few times trying to figure out what to do about the shortage in the checking account.  He was overwrought with concern over some choices their adult son was making. He wondered what he could do or say to get his son to listen to reason.  He was stressed about the way he had spoken to his favorite employee today at work.  By the time he finally made it to the bedroom, Faith was fast asleep.  He tossed and turned and awoke groggy after a fitful night’s sleep.

Faith awoke with the dawn and sat down with her coffee and her bible to start the day on the right note.  She enjoyed her coffee, read from Psalms, prayed over her family and went about her day’s tasks.

Wori gulped down his coffee, rushed out the door and hurried to work.  His mind was full of distressful thoughts throughout the day.  His stomach was bothering him and he had a headache.  Traffic was horrible and he shook his fist at a car as he sped past.  He felt his blood pressure rising as he had to wait at yet another red light.

As the sun was setting, Wori opened the front door and was greeted by calm wife who informed him that dinner was waiting.  The house was quiet and he was glad to be here.  He could smell the aroma of his favorite dish and maybe even an apple pie.  As Wori ate, he asked Faith how in the world she could stay so peaceful in the midst of such duress.  They were going through several trials in their lives and he never saw her falter in her faith.

She said, “Nothing I can do or say will change any of the situations we are facing, so I put them in the hands of God and leave them there.  When the temptation comes to worry or fret, I remind myself to think on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, that is what I think about.

He knew she was right, so after dinner he made his way to the back porch, bible in hand.  He spent some time alone, prayed for peace and placed his frustration and feelings of inadequacy into the hands of God.  Faith joined him with a smile on her face and thankfulness in her heart, knowing that with God and each other, they could face anything.